


my waves meet your shores

by geeky_page



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Dean Winchester Ships Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester is Loved, Domestic Fluff, Eileen Leahy Deserves Better, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Fix-It, Fluff, Homophobic John Winchester, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28944015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geeky_page/pseuds/geeky_page
Summary: Dean Winchester doesn't celebrate his birthday. Hasn't in long time. And if anyone can change that, it will have to be Cas.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 58





	my waves meet your shores

“Dean?”

Dean could hardly hear Cas’s voice from the bottom of the grave he was digging. He stopped and took a breath

“Yeah?” his arms, legs and back ached, reminding him that he wasn’t young anymore, not young enough to dig a second grave in a row anyway

“What would you like for your birthday?” Castiel asked

“Huh?” Dean stuck his shovel back into the dirt and it finally hit the solid wood of the coffin. He pierced through it. Old wood crumbled, revealing the skeleton it was protecting.

“Your birthday. It’s a couple days away,” Cas reminded him.

“Oh, yeah. I guess it is,” Dean straightened his back again, moaning from pain and reached out for Cas. He quickly took Dean’s hand and pulled him out of the grave, “I’m too old for this,” Dean mumbled, brushing the dust and dirt off of his jacket and jeans.

“That’s why you should have let me do it,” Castiel said, his eyes concerned.

“Maybe next time,” Dean smiled as if digging a grave of some asshole was a privilege you had to deserve. He took out his lighter and sent the said asshole on his last journey downstairs.

For a few moments the two of them just stood there, looking at the fire, shoulders pressed together. It was a cold night, but quiet too. Dean took time to enjoy it.

“So you didn’t answer,” Castiel said as they were leaving the cemetery. 

“Answer what?”

“What you want for your birthday,”

“Oh that,” Dean chuckled softly, “You mean like a present?”

“Sure,”

“Nothing,” Dean said sincerely, “I don’t need anything,”

“I didn’t ask what you needed, I asked what you wanted,” Cas corrected him once they reached the Impala. Dean’s knees reminded him of themselves once again as he sat on the driver’s seat.

“We don’t really do birthdays around here,” Dean said, starting the car, “It’s not like it’s some important holiday or something,”

“What holidays do you consider important, Dean?” Cas asked, looking at him from the passenger seat, like he did a million times before.

“I don’t know, like Christmas,”

“We didn’t do Christmas either this year,”

“If you wanted to do Christmas, you should have told me,” Dean said, earning an eye-roll from Cas.

“You are very good at switching conversation subjects,”

“Aw, thanks,” Dean shot Cas with a smile and turned back to the road. Both of them looked through the window, while a soft tune was playing on the radio and Dean replayed the conversation in his head. A year ago he’d leave it as it was, drove Cas and himself back to Bunker and wouldn’t even think about Cas’s questions. But a lot can change in a year.

Dean sighed.

“I just...I never really celebrated my birthday. Not as an adult anyway,” he started, “We never had time, you know? Same with Sam’s birthdays, or Christmas’s. You don’t really feel like celebrating when the world is ending. Again,” Dean clenched his jaw, not knowing what kind of answer to expect from Cas. He kept his eyes on the road, but felt Cas’s gaze on his face.

“You have never celebrated your birthday?” he asked

“Not after Mom died. The first time,”

“But-,” Castiel didn’t want to admit he wasn’t surprised. As an angel, he didn’t even understand the purpose of birthdays and considered celebrating the day you were born on the peak of human’s egocentrism and self-obsession. Only after he became a human himself (for the second time), he learned to see beauty in it. In dedicating a whole day just to celebrate someone’s existence. In feeling love so strong and fulfilling that you want to spend every day doing that. He hated that Dean never got to experience it.

“You threw birthdays for Sam though,” Cas said,

“Yeah, when i could. Not every year though,”

Cas looked at Dean. He didn’t know hot to put all the thoughts he had at that moment into words, without scaring Dean away. Even now, Dean didn’t really like grand gestures and long speeches. They made him awkward and uncomfortable, so Cas did his best to keep it short and simple.

“Is there a reason except for the lack of time that you don’t celebrate your birthday?” he asked

“Uhm...I don’t really like the attention?” Dean said, “Taking up the whole day, making people praise you. Seems kinda douchebaggy, no?” he smirked weakly.

“Not how I see it,” Castiel said and for the first time during the drive, their eyes locked.

“Well, I don’t know,”

“If you don’t want a big crowd, we could just call Sam and Eileen. Or just Sam,” Cas offered.

“It’s not about that,” Dean said, but that explained nothing to Castiel.

“Then-,” Cas started, but Dean cut him off,

“Don’t worry about it, Cas. Okay?” he gave him another smile, the one that was supposed to mark the end of that conversation. Cas sighed and nodded. For now.

The rest of the drive was mostly silent, but two of them found comfort in that silence. Dean was humming along to whatever was playing - even if it wasn’t an old song from his record collection and Cas didn’t tease him about that. He watched lights pass them, watched unfamiliar streets turn into the ones that led him home, watched how Dean relaxed as they approached the bunker. He didn’t consider that conversation over, but felt like continuing it would be an example of “bad timing” . Dean always said he had an issue with that. Cas agreed and sincerely tried to correct it. 

Loud and happy barking filled the walls of the Bunker as soon as Dean and Cas opened the door. Miracle ran to them, jumping at Dean, making him drop his bags. Dean kneeled in front of the newest member of their family and let him show how much he missed Dean while he was gone.

“Alright, buddy, alright,” Miracle was licking Dean’s face, his tail wagging fiercely, “I missed you too,”

For a few minutes two men just stayed there, in the middle of the room with their bags on the floor, petting the dog. Dean looked up and saw Cas smiling ear to ear while mumbling something like “Who is the good boy?” to the godsent (literally) dog and smiled even wider. His exhaustion and soreness stepped away, leaving space for calm and peaceful tiredness. He ran his fingers through Miracle’s fur once again and got up, taking his things to their room.

Cas watched him go, waited until he heard the door close and took out his phone.

Calling Sam this late was another example of what Dean called poor timing and Cas realized that, but he also realized that the chances of him getting time alone the next day were low, especially if he didn’t want Dean to find out about this conversation. Which he didn’t.

Sam picked up almost right away

“Cas? Is something wrong?” he asked. Castiel heard sheets moving and another sleepy voice on the background,

“No, everything is okay. I’m sorry to have woken you, Sam,”

“Alright,” Sam sighed, “What’s up? How did the hunt go?”

“Well,” Cas said, “I have a question for you,”

“Shoot,” Sam said, keeping his comments about the time to himself

“Dean’s birthday is the day after tomorrow,” he said. Sam was silent for a moment,

“Yeah, I remember,”

“I think, perhaps, we should do something. At least a dinner?”

Once again, Sam took his time to answer.

“I don’t know, Cas. Dean doesn’t like his birthdays that much,”

“Because he has never celebrated them,”

“Not...really,”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not my story to tell,” Sam sighed, “Maybe you’re right though. Maybe we should do something,”

“Is it...a bad memory? Is it the reason?”

“You can say that, yeah. Don’t tell Dean I said anything,”

“Of course,”

Cas drifted off to his own thoughts and theories while Sam went on about inviting people to the Bunker and turning that day into a simple family dinner. Castiel’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard door unlock and quiet footsteps.

“I have to go,” he whispered into the phone and ended the call by the time Dean was standing in the doorway, wearing his robe, hair still wet from the shower.

“What are you doing?” he asked

“Nothing,” Cas hid his phone behind his back, only then realizing how suspicious that was. Dean raised his brow,

“Are you coming to bed or will you just stand there the whole night?” he asked. Cas chuckled awkwardly

“Bed, of course. Yes,” he chuckled a bit more, passing Dean and walking into their bedroom. 

The next day was a perfect example of what Dean called his “lazy days”. They stayed at home - in bed - and enjoyed their well deserved rest. Besides, it wasn’t like either of them were in physical shape or form to do anything productive or heroic that day. Dean did have one attempt of googling a new case for them, but Cas quickly found a way to distract him. Only leaving the bed twice to eat, Cas almost forgot about his plans for tomorrow, but then Sam called and they settled on a way to throw Dean a subtle, but fun birthday. 

Dean would lie if he said he didn’t suspect anything from Cas. Don’t get him wrong, the start of his birthday was perfect by Dean’s standards with Cas waking Dean up with the smell of non-burnt pancakes (which was the first time Castiel had successfully made something edible and he was even happier than Dean was). Both of them smiled like fools when Dean finally sat at the table to have his birthday breakfast. Dean didn’t know what to say and Cas didn’t expect anything from him, so they just ate in the silent bliss of finally being able to share lazy mornings together, without having one of them run off to Heaven, or hide his feelings away fearing to get another hurt or worse. They kissed like teenagers, biting lips, leaving purple marks on skin, laughing at themselves. Dean thought that birthdays weren’t that bad after all. And then people started calling.

Dean was assured no one even knew when his birthday was, leave alone remember the date. But exactly at 9 am another making out session was interrupted with someone very persistent calling on Dean’s mobile.

‘Pick up,’ Cas said, but his grip on Dean’s shirt told a different story

‘They’ll call again,’ Dean answered and Cas let go and stepped away. Dean rolled his eyes and took his phone out of his pocket. It was Garth.

Castiel wouldn’t admit that to Dean - or anyone else - but watching Winchester awkwardly smile and mumble thanks as Garth went on praising him and telling how much Dean meant to him was about the most amusing experience Castiel had ever had in all his time of existence. 

After Garth there was Charlie and Stevie. They kept it shorter, but Dean's reaction was approximately the same. 

And then, Dean's phone was quite literally exploding. All of his phones. People kept calling - Jody, Donna, the girls, (Claire's congratulations were the ones that came close to making Dean cry, but he managed to "man up" and get himself together), then Bobby, and even a few hunters that Dean had only encountered a few times in his life. Those calls were especially awkward, since the hunters never know how to show their affection and appreciation towards someone else and Dean is only on a beginner level of dealing with his feelings like a proper human being. 

Dean sighed and put the phone down as the last person who can possibly call him that day finished their speech. He was relieved to be over with that part, as surprising and flattering as it was. And then Cas told him to get dressed and get in the car. 

"We're going to Sam's, right?" Dean asked as Cas was physically pushing him towards his own car. Dean kept bickering about cheating on Baby, but though Cas wasn’t an angel anymore, he still was strong. He slammed the door after Dean, let Miracle to the backseat and sat down at the driver’s seat

"He's the only one who didn't call, so I assume we're going to his place," Dean said after Cas ignored him. Just to be ignored again. Castiel already started the car.

"I know you were talking to him on the phone the other day. You're not that sneaky," Dean said once the Bunker was out of their sight.

Cas sighed.

“Yes, okay. You heard us and I’m not sneaky,” he said, “If you genuinely don’t want this, I can turn back,” Dean didn’t say anything. Cas didn’t stop the car, “I just want to do something nice for you,” he added, voice soft . Dean looked up at Cas and mentally cursed himself,

“But that’s all you do. Ever,” Cas shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road, “Really. I don’t need special occasions, or holidays, or...or presents. I have everything I ever wanted,” Dean said with a smile, “Sam is safe and happy, the world is more or less safe, you are here. What else could I want?”

“These are all pretty basic things, Dean,”

“Well. Not when you get them for the first time in your life,”  
Moments of silence slipped between them. Cas was thinking about his next move, Dean - about what Cas had just said. Maybe Winchester’s idea of happiness was rather grounded and consisted of things most people already have and take for granted. But that didn’t mean he ever would.

“I’m sorry,” Dean said, “I’m acting like an asshole. I appreciate it, Cas, I really do,”

“So should I keep driving?” Cas looked at him with those big blue eyes, pure love and dedication written in them and Dean couldn’t say no, even if he wanted to.

“Fine, but no presents!”

The drive took less than an hour. It was important for Sam to be close to the Bunker even if he didn’t live there anymore. For the first time since his time with Amelia, Sam had a place of his own again. This time was so much different than all his previous attempts to start a normal life, though. Maybe it was different, because Sam didn’t really try to be normal anymore. And neither did Eileen. She understood it all, understood Sam, the life he had and accepted it. With her, Sam could be himself. And Dean was so damn happy for him. Especially after they got Castiel back and Dean could be happy for himself too. He just stopped caring about stupid formalities like the harm of developing attachments while being a hunter, or the feeling of a debt in your chest that doesn't let you retire. Or the voice of the dead parent in your head that says that you shouldn’t be with someone you love because they have a “wrong” body. 

Dean felt like a character from a cheap family movie as they drove up to Sam’s and Eileen’s house and saw them standing on the street, waiting for them. Inside he groaned, but managed to keep a smile on. 

As they stepped out of the car, Eileen immediately ran up to Dean and had her arms around him, whie Sam turned to Miracle.

“Well, don’t let me interrupt you,” Dean said and Sam chuckled, getting up from his knees

“Hey, old man,” Sam said, putting his hands in his pockets

“Shut up, jerk,” Dean replied, mimicking Sam’s pose. And his response came as naturally as the hug that it followed

“Bitch,”

Dean smiled as Sam hugged him. He was happy for Sam - surely and sincerely, but he still held the days when Sam was always around dear in his heart. 

“Happy birthday,” Sam said and pulled away.

“Thanks, Sammy,” Dean said with a smile. A few steps away Cas and Eileen were silently discussing something and Dean completely gave up trying to seem grumpy.

They walked into the house. It was the third time Dean had been there, the second one for Castiel and the first one for Miracle. The dog started exploring the new places, sniffing all the corners and barking at everything that caught his attention.

Dean smiled and walked into the living room, silently giving his approval to the devil’s trap drawn under the rug. And then his eyes laid on the dining table.

“Guys…,” it seemed to have come out of the most cliche movie about the most functional family this world has ever seen. All Dean’s favorite meals, his favorite beer, candles, everything. Even the infamous Winchester Surprise was there! Dean would definitely make some sarcastic comment if he wasn’t this flattered.

“All Sam’s work,” Elieen said, calling everyone to the table, “Wouldn’t let me help at all,”

“No way,” Dean looked at Sam, who was smiling and rubbing the back of his neck.

“I figured I could try to repay for every time you fed me as kids,” he said, “Can’t promise it’s as good, but I did my best,”

For a few more seconds Dean just looked at the table and at people around him and then he had to turn away to blink away the tears. Eileen took his hand and led him to his seat at the top of the table.

From then on, the conversation started flowing like a river and Dean wondered why he wanted to deny himself that experience.

“There is no way that’s true,” Eileen laughed until she needed a moment to stop and take a breath

“I swear! I swear!” Dean repeated laughing even harder, his hand on Cas’s shoulder who was sitting right beside him, “Sammy was 7, i think?” Sam nodded, but everything about him told how much he did not want Dean to tell that story

“We were staying at a motel in Illinois, dad was away on a hunt and I sent him to some playground,” Dean started, eyes sparkling as he teleported himself back to one of the few good memories of his childhood, “I stayed at the room, cleaning up and then he comes back, scared shitless,” another burst of laughter interrupted Dean’s tale and Sam couldn’t help but laugh too. By that time Cas was grinning too, though he had heard that story many and many times before.

“So he comes back, tears in his eyes and says that he got someone pregnant,”

“What?” Eileen almost spilled her drink,

“That wasn’t how I said!” Sam interfered

“That was exactly how you said it!” Dean said, pointing at Sam, “I look at him and he just starts crying more,”

“I didn’t cry, okay?” Sam rushed to save himself, “I was just...concerned. And highly misinformed,”

“Turns out, he met some girl and she held his hand. And according to 7 year old Sammy, that’s how you get kids,”  
Laughter flew over the room like the sweetest melody. Even Sam didn’t hold back, though he made a mental note to tell an equally embarrassing story about Dean sometime when it’s not his birthday.

A couple more childhood stories, around 10 bottles of beer and a whole chicken later, Dean got up to help Eileen out in the kitchen. Castiel and Sam were discussing the program that Sam was working on - something to help hunters communicate more effectively and track new cases. Retiring was a logical step for the Winchesters, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t just abandon the legacy of Men of Letters and all the knowledge they had access to. That needed to be passed down to someone else.

“Need some help?” Dean signed, pretty sure he was correct. Eillen smiled.

“You’re getting better,” she signed back, “Wait here,”

Dean started going through the dishes, putting the ones Eileen had already washed into drawers while a content smile was playing on his lips. He could still hear the voices of his brother and boyfriend from the living room and calm breath of his dog who followed Dean into the kitchen. All he felt was gratitude.

“So I’m giving you this here because I want to see your genuine reaction,” Eileen said as she came back, hands behind her back.

“What?” Dean wiped his hands

“Here,” she handed him a beautifully wrapped small box

“I said no gifts!”

“Yeah, Cas told me. Count it as a thank you for bringing me back from the dead. Again,” Dean frowned, “Come on! Open!”

Dean sighed and tore the wrapping paper. And his eyes went wide.

“I-” he looked up at Eileen and then at her gift, “What? I don’t-”

“Yes, you do,” she said. Dean stared at the cassette in his hands as a huge grin finally cracked his face.

“You can’t be serious,” he said, smiling, “Taylor Swift ‘reputation’,” he read and then turned the gift in his hands, “Wait, it’s signed?”

“Yep,”

“Like actually signed? By her?”

“By Taylor Swift personally,” Eileen said, pleased with herself, “You’re lucky she’s releasing cassettes, since you refuse to put at least a CD player in your car,”

“This...this is…,” Dean laughed and hugged her, “Probably the best gift I’ve ever received,”

“You can stop hiding you like her now,” Eileen said, smiling.

“Yeah,” he looked at the cassette again and chuckled in disbelief, “Thank you,” Dean said sincerely 

“Happy birthday, Dean,” Eileen kissed Dean on the cheek and the moment of future siblings in law was interrupted by a loud “HEY” coming from Sam.

Out of all the family dinners Dean got to live through in his 41 years of life - which weren’t numerous - this one went by the quickest. By the time Sam announced that he had made a pie too and brought it on the table, it was already 9 pm, but the pie was welcomed nevertheless. 

And it was the best damn pie Dean had ever tried.

He tried not to praise Sam that much for his cooking - he knew how proud Sammy could get - but he had to give it to him, the dinner was amazing. And his attempt at Winchester Surprise almost made him cry. It tasted almost exactly like Mary made. Everything about that day was amazing. Cas and Dean agreed to stay the night and by the time the lights went off in the Winchester-Leahy household, Dean’s cheeks ached from smiling.

“What are you doing here?” Eileen asked as Dean walked into the kitchen, interrupting her conversation with Sam.

“I wanted to help?”

“No,” she put her hands on Dean’s shoulder and started pushing him towards the guest bedroom, where Cas was already waiting for him, “You don’t clean after your own birthday. Sam and I can handle it,”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Sam answered

“Thank you, guys. Really, for all of this,”

“Hey, we’re glad you had fun,” Sam said, smiling knowingly.

“Yeah. Yeah, I did,” Dean pat his brother on the shoulder, “Same thing next year? Maybe by then you guys will need a bigger house,” Dean said wiggling his eyebrows. Eileen and Sam exchanged a look and chuckled

“Yeah, maybe. Who knows?”

This realization that there wasn’t no one to know, no one to decide it for them washed Dean over with a new wave of happiness. He grinned, feeling free and happy.  
“Goodnight, guys,”

Cas was already in bed when Dean walked into the dark bedroom. Quickly stripping down to his boxers, he got into the bed, shivering as cold fresh sheets touched his body. Castiel turned to him.

“Did you enjoy your birthday, Dean?” he asked. Dean put his arms around Cas’s waist and buried his nose into his neck, humming something like “definitely”. Castiel hugged him back,

“I’m glad,” he said.

Dean would be happy to fall asleep just like that, stay like that till the morning, wake up in Cas’s arms. But he pulled away and sat up on his side of the bed.

“What’s wrong?” Castiel asked, leaning against his elbow and looking into Dean’s face.

“I kind of lied to you,” he said

“When?”

“When I said that I've never celebrated my birthday after mom died,” Dean was looking ahead of himself. He wasn’t smiling anymore and Castiel knew he was thinking about the part of his childhood that he didn’t like remembering.

“We did. I mean, it wasn’t as great as today, but at least we acknowledged my birthday,” Dean said, “Dad would go easy on me those days, give me a beer maybe, or some extra pocket money. Last time that happened was my 16th birthday,” Dean went silent and Cas waited for him to continue, watching shadows playing on his face as cars passed the house

“And then?” Cas asked finally

“Then I turned 17,” Dean sighed, “I think I’ve told you, that was my first solo hunt,”

“You only mentioned that you were 17, you didn’t say it was your birthday,” Cas said.

“Well, it was. Dad said I was grown enough and that the hunt was easy and it was about time,” Dean's voice shook slightly, but Cas noticed and moved closer, “It was an easy one, but I wouldn’t send my kid to handle it, you know?” Dean smirked humorlessly, “Two nuns’ ghosts were killing people in Riverton. A simple salt and burn. But...dad gave me that hunt for a reason,” 

Cas patiently waited till Dean continued. And Dean wondered if starting this conversation was a right move and maybe he shouldn’t have spoiled such a good day.

“The nuns were in love. They couldn’t be with each other so they killed themselves and then decades later started killing other people,” Dean said, basically quoting the page from John’s journal. He had read that one many and many times.

Dean went silent again, trying to choose the right words. Just telling that story brought back the feeling of humiliation and weird isolation he felt that day. 

“I don’t know how he knew. I never told him, or Sam, or anyone else. I knew...I knew who I was since I was freaking 15 and never told anyone till a couple months ago. But he knew. And that hunt was a message to me. He didn’t even have enough balls to confront me and instead sent me, a freaking 17 year old scared kid to kill gay nuns,” Dean chuckled, but the tears on his cheeks showed how hurt he was. How hurt he still is. Cas took his hand, but didn’t try to stop Dean. He wanted him to get this off his chest.

“I came back to the motel that day, covered in dirt and blood, and then i started thinking - maybe it’s just a coincidence, maybe he didn’t mean anything by it. But then dad looked at me...i don’t even know how to describe that look. And I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. It was his way to tell me that this is what people “like that” get. And from then on my birthdays just became anniversaries of that day. I stopped acknowledging them all together,”

Dean stopped. A few tears that he let fall had already dried on his face. Cas looked at him, holding his hand, trying to figure out what to say.

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Dean,”

Dean seemed to have come out of the stupor he was in. He turned to Cas, squeezed his hand back and let out a sad chuckle.

“Yeah, it’s okay. It was so long ago,” he said,

“It doesn’t mean it’s not supposed to affect you anymore,”

“I guess. I just wanted to tell you why I was against this,”

Castiel wondered what he should say now. That no one should have to go through something like that? That his father was so deeply wrong he couldn’t even see how much he was hurting his children? That he hates John for doing it? Tell him how much he hopes that Dean is happy now? That he loves him?

Cas learned a lot of things from Dean - almost everything he knew and was had been influenced by Dean. Struggle to express his feelings being one of those things. But Cas knew that Dean was a man of actions and appreciated actions more than words. So he let go of his hand and got up from the bed.

“Where are you going?”

Cas opened his backpack that laid in the corner of the room and took out a small box. Without turning any lights on, he set down on the bed and waited for Dean to sit up.

“What is this?” Dean looked down at the velvet box in Cas’s hands, “I said no presents! Why do I even bother making rules if you all just ignore them?”

“This isn’t a gift,” Cas said, stroking the box in his hands, “This is yours either way. I just waited for a right moment to give it to you,” Dean looked at him confused. Cas simply handed him the box.

Dean hesitated. Afraid of god knows what, he accepted the box, but didn’t rush to open it. Something told him that whatever is inside that box, it goes beyond its materialistic value. He thought that a new phase of his life could be in that box. 

He opened it. And soft blue light illuminated his face.

“Cas...this is…,” he whispered, keeping his eyes on the gift

“My grace. Well, the remains of it,” 

Dean reached to touch it. It was a tiny bottle pendant on a silver chain. Just the look of it took Dean’s breath away.

“You’re giving it to me?” Dean asked, looking up

“It is yours, if you want” Cas said. The day when he cut it out of his own neck was still fresh and bright in front of his eyes. It was an act of complete trust and loyalty. Letting go of all the power and invincibility that being an angel brought, having to embrace all horrible aspects of humanity - all for an opportunity to grow old together with Dean Winchester.

“Cas,I-” the light coming from the grace made Dean’s eyes shine even brighter. He kept looking at it, flushed and flattered, “I don’t know what to say,”

“It’s okay,” Cas smiled, “There,” he took the necklace from Dean and carefully put it on him. The pendant felt cold and warm at the same time against the bare skin of Dean’s chest. But it also felt familiar. Like the amulet Sam had once given him felt.

“Thank you,” Dean said, voicing only a tiny part of what he was thinking at that moment. But the warmth in his eyes said the rest. He touched the bottle, watching how grace moved to where his fingers were, “Thank you, Cas,”

Dean wished Cas understood it. He looked at him and silently begged him to just get it. Get that he wasn’t just thanking him for the pendant, or for the birthday. There was so much Dean was grateful for, he wouldn’t be able to put it all into words even if he tried. So he didn’t. He just stared into Cas’s eyes that were even more blue now and squeezed the tiny bottle in his hands.

“You’re welcome. Happy Birthday, Dean,”

Cas got it all.

**Author's Note:**

> Heeey  
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!  
> This is a silly little thing I wrote for Dean's birthday because I couldn't help it. I miss him and he deserves better and I will never accept the finale.   
> This is also my first time posting for this fandom so I'm kinda nervous  
> Kudos and comments are very appreciated!  
> ♥️♥️


End file.
